Revolution Recap Blog

Fernandez, Knighton loaned out

2008-07-02T16:59:00.000-04:00

The New England Revolution announced today that forward Argenis Fernandez and goalkeeper Brad Knighton have been loaned out to LD Alajuelense (Costa Rica’s Primera División) and the Portland Timbers (USL First Division), respectively, for the remainder of the season. Both players can be recalled at any time if needed.

Fernandez, 21, signed in March and has seen action in two first team matches this season off the bench. He has scored two goals for the reserves.

Knighton, 23, signed with the Revs in 2007 and has never made a first team appear.

Revs Easily Handle Richmond

2008-07-02T10:14:00.001-04:00

Fans had to wait nearly two hours for kickoff because of thunderstorms in the area, but the Revolution made it worth the wait with a 3-0 victory over the Richmond Kickers to advance to the US Open Cup Quarterfinals.

Fielding a lineup of mostly reserves, plus Taylor Twellman and Kenny Mansally up top, the Revs struggled to create chances in the first half, but came to life after the break tallying three goals in the second half keep alive their hopes of repeating as US Open Cup Champions.

Massachusetts native Sam Brill opened the scoring before Joe Germanese and Twellman scored in quick succession to ensure the Revs were victorious in front of just under 4,000 fans in New Britain, Connecticut...

Click here to read the rest at Soccer New England.

Ralston named MLS Player of the Week, Manzonelli called up to U-20s

2008-07-01T16:55:00.000-04:00

Revolution captain Steve Ralston earned only his second ever MLS Player of the Week honor for his two goal performance last weekend in the Revolution's 2-1 win over Toronto FC. Ralston's only other Player of the Week award came in 1997. With five goals in June, he certainly must be a favorite for Player of the Month honors as well. Despite the Revolution sitting atop the MLS standings, this is the first time this season one of their players has been named Player of the Week.

18-year-old Brandon Manzonelli, who signed for the Revolution on May 21st, was called up by US U-20 coach Thomas Rongen for their match against Mexico on July 12th. As part of the 16-player roster, Manzonelli stands a good chance of seeing his U-20 debut.

Revs to Defend Open Cup Title

2008-07-01T11:16:00.000-04:00

Who: Richmond Kickers (USL-2) at New England Revolution
Where: Veterans Stadium, New Britain, CT
When: Tuesday, 7:00 p.m.

The New England Revolution will begin the defense of their US Open Cup title on Tuesday night in New Britain, Connecticut against the Richmond Kickers.

The Revolution won the Open Cup Championship last year using their regular starting lineup throughout the competition, regardless of the opposition. This year, however, that looks likely to change, at least on Tuesday, when the Revs try to balance a tough schedule that sees them play three games in six days.

Click here to read the rest at Soccer New England.

Revolution Recap - June 29th Show

2008-06-30T15:51:00.000-04:00

June 29th's show is available now as an MP3 archive at RevolutionRecap.com and on iTunes.

The show featured Adam Sell in studio and Marc Connolly (Goal.com) and Josh Hakala (USOpenCup.com) over the phone. Also included were post game comments from Steve Nicol, Steve Ralston, Michael Parkhurst, Matt Reis, Jeff Larentowicz, and Kenny Mansally.

Report: Twellman to start Tuesday

2008-06-30T12:29:00.004-04:00

In his column today in the Boston Globe, Frank Dell'Apa has a quote from head coach Steve Nicol that he plans to start Taylor Twellman in Tuesday's US Open Cup match in New Britain, Connecticut against the Richmond Kickers (USL-2). It would mark the first time the Revs all-time leading scorer, who missed about a quarter of the season with a knee injury only to suffer an ankle injury in his first game back, has appeared in the starting line-up since preseason. Twellman was jogging around the field during the reserve match yesterday, but did not enter the game. He entered Saturday's first team match in the 79^th minute for his first minutes for the Revs since May 11th.

Reserves: Revolution fall 2-1 to Toronto on late goal

2008-06-29T13:32:00.003-04:00

The New England Revolution reserves fell 2-1 to Toronto Sunday morning, giving up an 87^th minute goal just seconds after they had an easy chance to take the lead. With the loss, the Revolution reserves fell to 1-4-2 on the season, while Toronto improved to 4-2-0.

The Toronto FC reserves caused the Revolution backline problems early, with the speedy Jeff Cunningham and Andrea Lombardo up top. It was Lombardo who threatened early, first making a run into the box before being taken down by a Revolution defender, only to see his team’s appeals for a penalty waved off. Soon after, Lombardo got free in the left side of the box, but sent his shot well wide of the target.

In the 15^th minute Toronto took the lead, when Jeff Cunningham got free down the right flank and sent in a low cross towards the penalty spot. Goalkeeper Doug Warren ran out and dove to grab the ball, but couldn’t hold on to it. A miscommunication between Warren and Sam Brill allowed Tyler Rosenlund to get to the ball and tap it into the net to give Toronto a 1-0 lead.

Seven minutes later there was more bad news for the Revs, as Wells Thompson, making a run up the left flank, was taken down from behind by a bad tackle from Cunningham. After staying down for over a minute, Thompson was subbed out for Geoff Walker. Cunningham received a yellow card on the play.

It was Walker who got the Revs back on level terms in the 32^nd minute. A Revolution corner kick fell to Kenny Mansally in the right side of the box, and the Gambian international sent a pass back to Walker. The guest player hammered a shot off the crossbar that bounced into the goal to knot the game at 1-1.

Warren came up big in the 41^st minute, after Kevin Harmse managed to get free in the box. The Canadian international blasted a shot on frame that Warren not only managed to save, but also held onto it and didn’t give up a rebound.

The Revs had a chance three minutes after half time when Brandon Tyler was taken down about five yards outside of the box. A quick free kick was sent to Mansally, who was quickly taken down near the top of the penalty area. It was unclear whether the foul took place inside or outside of the box, but the referee called for a free kick and Mansally stepped up to take it. The 19 year old curled a shot over the wall, but saw it land just high of the net.

The Revolution made four substitutions in the 63^rd minute with Mansally, Joe Germanese, Chris Tierney, and Pat Phelan all exiting for guest players; likely with the Revolution coaching staff having Tuesday’s US Open Cup match in mind.

The Revolution continued to look good going forward and Chase Hilgenbrinck set up Brandon Manzonelli for what should have been an easy goal in the 86^th minute. Hilgenbrinck made a great run up the left flank to the end line before sending a low cross to a wide open Manzonelli about 6 yards from goal in front of the penalty spot. The 18 year old tried to one time a shot, but somehow managed to send the ball well off target.

A minute later, 16 year old Abdus Ibrahim got free in the box and hammered a shot past substitute goalkeeper Brad Knighton into the upper right corner of the net to give Toronto a 2-1 win.

The Revolution reserves don’t play again until August 10^th against the Chicago Fire in Foxboro.

Unofficial line-up:

Doug Warren (Brad Knighton 45), Chase Hilgenbrinck, Rob Valentino (#38* 45), Sam Brill, Pat Phelan (#35* 63), Brando Tyler, Wells Thompson (Geoff Walker* 23), Chris Tierney (#26* 63), Joe Germanese (#37* 63), Kenny Mansally (#39* 63), Brandon Manzonelli

*Guest player

Ralston Leads Revs to Victory

2008-06-28T23:20:00.000-04:00

The New England Revolution took a two-goal lead into the final half hour of the match thanks to Steve Ralston and survived a late scare from Toronto to come away with a 2-1 victory Saturday.

Despite the late goal, and another late chance for Toronto, the Revs looked the better team from start to finish for the first time in recent weeks in earning their ninth win of the season in front of 15,863 at Gillette Stadium.

The win guarantees the Revolution coaching staff, led by Nicol, will lead the MLS All-Stars against West Ham on July 24.

Read the rest at Soccer New England.

Revolution ready for improved Toronto

2008-06-28T10:25:00.001-04:00

Who: Toronto FC at New England Revolution
Where: Gillette Stadium, Foxboro, MA
When: Saturday, 7:30 p.m. (TV38)

The New England Revolution completely dominated Toronto FC at Gillette Stadium last year with 4-0 and 3-0 victories. Toronto, in their first season as an expansion franchise, struggled and finished dead last in Major League Soccer.

This year, however, Toronto currently sites in third place in the Eastern Conference, just 6 points behind the New England Revolution with two games in hand. In fact, first year Head Coach John Carver has done so well since taking over this season that with just one game left before the All-Star coach is picked based on points per game, he is still in the running.

That will likely be in the back of both coaches minds in Saturday night's match as a Revolution win would guarantee Steve Nicol will coach the MLS All-Stars on July 24^th against West Ham. A Toronto win, combined with a loss by Columbus, would give the role to Carver.

Click here to read the full preview at Soccer New England.

Revolution Recap June 29th Guests Announced

2008-06-27T18:13:00.000-04:00

This Sunday's edition of Revolution Recap will feature Adam Sell (BigSoccer.com moderator) in studio, as well as Marc Connolly (writer for Goal.com) and Josh Hakala (USOpenCup.com) over the phone.

Up for discussion:
-The result of Saturday night's match-up between the Revs and Toronto, including post match commentary from players and Head Coach Steve Nicol.
-The Revs season so far. Are they as good as their record?
-The US Open Cup so far and the Revs third round match-up against the Richmond Kickers on Tuesday
-Fixture congestion/what are reasonable expectations for this team through all competitions?
-Impact of Taylor Twellman's return.
-July 4th's game against the Western Conference leading Los Angeles Galaxy

The show can be heard live at 7:05PM on WNRI AM 1380 or at RevolutionRecap.com. If you miss it live, check back for the archive on Monday morning.

Please send any questions or comments you'd like addressed on the show to revolutionrecap@gmail.com, or post them here in the comments section.

Twellman could be available Saturday

2008-06-26T14:10:00.001-04:00

Taylor Twellman has been back in full training the past two days and could potentially be available as a substitute this weekend. Though he may not be back at full speed after only two days, he certainly showed some good signs, attempting a bicycle kick in a scrimmage between the first team and reserve team and later scoring on a diving header in a drill.

"Obviously he hasn't been training properly for three months," said head coach Steve Nicol. "I think we can maybe get something out of him on Saturday, whether it's 10, 15, or 20 minutes. We might be lucky. Again, we'll see how he reacts. He's had two days training and hopefully he'll come in tomorrow with no reaction. We'll keep along the same lines day in and day out and see how it goes."

Mauricio Castro was also participating fully in practice and looked back to full speed after a right oblique strain kept him out of last weekend's match.

Check Soccer New England tomorrow for a full preview of Saturday's match against Toronto.

US Open Cup Quarterfinal also set for New Britain, IF Revs win on Tuesday

2008-06-25T21:24:00.005-04:00

US Soccer today announced the New England Revolution would host their US Open Cup quarterfinal match, if they win in the third round on Tuesday against Richmond. Should the Revs advance, they will host the winner of the New York Red Bulls - Crystal Palace Baltimore third round match-up at Veterans Stadium in New Britain, CT on July 8th at 7PM.

Globe's Dell'Apa reassigned to Celtics

2008-06-25T20:15:00.003-04:00

Frank Dell'Apa, who has long provided the some of best coverage of the New England Revolution available, has been reassigned, at least temporarily, by the Boston Globe to the Boston Celtics. The news came today on In the Net, hosted by Brad Feldman with a guest appearance from Frank. With the main stream media's coverage of the Revs already lacking, soccer fans can not afford to lose someone who has provided such in depth coverage not available anywhere else. No word yet on how the Globe plans to cover the Revs in his absence.

On the In the Net program, Brad suggested e-mailing Globe sports editor Joe Sullivan and Frank agreed that may help. So if you can spare a moment, please let the Globe know how much Frank's coverage is needed, by sending an e-mail to Joe Sullivan at jtsullivan@globe.com.

As listeners to Revolution Recap, on which Frank has been one of the most frequent guests, would know, Frank has an understanding of soccer that's hard to find in American journalists.

Revs will host Richmond in US Open Cup Third Round on Tuesday

2008-06-24T22:19:00.000-04:00

The Richmond Kickers (USL-2) defeated the Western Mass Pioneers (USL-2) in the US Open Cup Second Round 2-1 tonight to earn a spot Third Round where they will face the defending US Open Cup Champions, the New England Revolution. The game will take place on July 1st at 7PM in New Britain, Connecticut at Veterans Stadium.

Richmond features former Revolution player and Pembroke, Massachusetts native Luke Vercollone.

For tickets visit New-Britain.net.

Revolution Recap - June 22nd show

2008-06-23T13:18:00.003-04:00

June 22nd's show is available now as an MP3 archive at RevolutionRecap.com and on iTunes.

The show featured Greg Lalas, Revolution TV Color Commentator, MLS ExtraTime host and writer for Goal.com, and Michael Jones, publisher of Soccer New England.

Apologies for the poor audio quality of this one.

World Cup Qualifying: Bermuda out after 2-0 loss

2008-06-22T22:18:00.004-04:00

Khano Smith's Bermuda got the job done on the road with a 2-1 win against Trinidad and Tobago last weekend, but couldn't complete the upset at home, falling 2-0 tonight to loss the series 3-2 and fall out of contention for a place in the 2010 World. Smith started the match and was subbed out in the 78th minute with Bermuda already down 2-0.

Trinidad & Tobago will join the United States, Cuba and Guatemala in Group A of CONCACAF's semifinal round of World Cup Qualifying.

Fulltime: US 1 - 0 Barbados

2008-06-22T17:05:00.001-04:00

After what was a fairly uneventful first half, the US lead Barbados 1-0 (9-0 on aggregate) thanks to an Eddie Lewis goal. Barbados has had a few opportunities, but the US defense has been able to prevent Barbados from testing 'keeper Brad Guzan. The second half was much of the same, though Barbados managed a few shots, both sides didn't cause many problems for their opponent's keeper.

The US took the lead in the 22nd minute, when a deflected pass from from Freddy Adu found the run of Eddie Lewis. The Derby County winger ran into the box and slotted the ball through the legs of 'keeper Alvin Rouse for his 10th international goal.

Left back Heath Pearce made a run into the offense and picked up a great pass from Adu in the 37th minute. At the top of the box, Pearce sent a right footed shot just wide of the target.

DaMarcus Beasley had an opportunity two minutes before the half after Eddie Lewis sprung him free down the right flank with a great cross. Beasley, alone in on goal, was incorrectly ruled offsides.

Barbados finally threatened in the 58th minute when Emerson Boyce received the ball from Mark McCammon in the box. Boyce beat Guzan, but saw his shot bounce off the crossbar and back into play.

The US rarely threatened throughout the rest of the match, while Barbados went forward a bit more, but never forced Guzan into a save.

The US next travels to Guatemala on August 20th for the first match of the next round.

World Cup Qualifying: Grenada fall 3-0 to Costa Rica

2008-06-22T01:25:00.005-04:00

Shalrie Joseph played the full 90 minutes as Grenada's hopes of advancing in World Cup Qualifying came to a crashing halt. After drawing 2-2 last weekend in Grenada, the "spice boyz" fell 3-0 on the road to Costa Rica to be eliminated from contention for a place in the 2010 World Cup. While the result is bad for Joseph and Grenada, it may be good for the Revolution: had Grenada advanced, Joseph surely would have missed many more games for the Revs later this season.

Revs fall 2-1 to Salt Lake

2008-06-22T01:23:00.003-04:00

The New England Revolution entered the match a perfect 8-0-0 when scoring the first goal and Adam Cristman put them on top in just the 8^th minute. Salt Lake, however, came back thanks to an own goal by Jay Heaps and a second half strike by rookie Tino Nunez to get a 2-1 victory and remain unbeaten at home. The loss ends the Revs unbeaten run at 7 games.

Read the rest at Soccer New England.

Resilient RSL to Host Revs

2008-06-21T11:10:00.000-04:00

The Revs extended their unbeaten run to 7 games on Wednesday, but didn't look very impressive in doing so. While New England is now only 3-2-2 at home, on the road they are an impressive 5-1-1.

On Saturday, the best road record in MLS will be tested against Salt Lake, who despite having a losing record overall, are unbeaten at home. Salt Lake are also on a modest 4 game unbeaten run, although they haven't played a team with a winning record during that stretch.

Read the rest at Soccer New England.

Mansally plays for Gambia in 1-0 loss to Algeria

2008-06-20T18:02:00.000-04:00

Abdoulie "Kenny" Mansally got his second appearance for the Gambian National Team today in a 1-0 loss to Algeria today, coming off the bench in the 87th minute. Mansally made his debut off the bench over the weekend.

Gambia now sit 3rd in Group 6 of World Cup Qualifying from Africa. Gambia must finish at least second to have a chance of advancing to the next round.

For more information on Mansally's appearances for Gambia, including their U-17 and U-20 teams, visit FIFA.com.

Revolution on grass vs. artificial turf; does the playing surface make a difference?

2008-06-19T14:29:00.000-04:00

It’s undeniable that the Revs have been better on the road this year than at home, but is it because of the playing surface? With 14 games played this season, the Revs have played 7 times on grass and 7 times on artificial surfaces. On grass, they’ve been a very impressive 6-1-0 with a +4 goal differential, while on turf the team has only been 2-2-3 with a +1 goal differential.

Another item of interest is that the Revs generally practice on grass. I’m not sure which teams practice regularly on artificial surfaces, but it was mentioned during the broadcast last night that New York does. Playing in Salt Lake City on FieldTurf on Saturday should be another interesting test.

Looks to me like a fairly big difference in the records, though there are certainly other variables involved that should be looked at, such as strength of opposition, time between games, unavailable players, etc. Keep in mind the relatively small sample size and that this has not been the case in past seasons, but here’s the breakdown (please let me know if you notice any errors):

Turf (2-2-3, 9 GF, 8 GA):
vs. Houston Dynamo (3/29) – 3-0 win
vs. Colorado (4/12) – 0-1 loss
at New York (4/19) – 1-1 draw
vs. Chicago (5/3) – 0-3 loss
vs. San Jose (5/17) – 2-0 win
vs. D.C. United (5/29) – 2-2 draw
vs. New York (6/18) – 1-1 draw

Grass (6-1-0, 11 GF, 7 GA):
at Chicago (4/3) – 0-4 loss
at Kansas City (4/9) – 3-1 win
at FC Dallas (4/24) – 1-0 win
at Chivas(5/11) – 2-1 win
at Columbus (5/24) – 1-0 win
vs. FC Dallas (6/6) – 2-1 win
at Houston (6/12) – 2-0 win

Reserves: Revs 5 - 0 Red Bulls

2008-06-18T23:42:00.003-04:00

The Revolution Reserves finished up a doubleheader with the first team against the New York Red Bulls with a dominating 5-0 victory. Amaechi Igwe, Brandon Manzonelli, Chris Tierney, Geoff Walker and Chase Hilgenbrinck all scored for the reserves as they improved to 1-3-2 on the season.

Amaechi Igwe gave the Revs the lead in the 38th minute after Chris Tierney was taken down in the box by Luke Sassano. The referee pointed to the spot and Igwe stepped up and buried it into the lower left corner past Caleb Patterson-Sewell.

Three minutes later 18-year-old Brandon Manzonelli doubled the lead, nutmegging two Red Bulls defenders before sending a curling shot inside the far post.

Geoff Walker, a guest player, made it 3-0 in the 64th minute after picking up the ball in the left side of the box off a deflected shot from Joe Germanese. Walker took a touch and then blasted it into the far corner of the net.

Chase Hilgenbrinck made it 4-0 in the 77th minute. A Red Bulls defender stopped a cross with his hand in the box and the referee whistled for a penalty kick. Hilgenbrinck took it and hammered it down the middle to put the match out of reach.

Tierney made it 5-0 on yet another PK in the 84th. This time the Revs earned one after Walker was taken down from behind in the box. Tierney sent the ball low to the left corner of the net with Patterson-Sewell diving the wrong way.

New England Reserves: Doug Warren, Geoff Walker*, Sam Brill, Chase Hilgenbrinck, Amaechi Igwe (Steve Pagnotta* 46), Pat Phelan (Greg Robinson* 46), Brandon Tyler, Joe Germanese (Dan MacGreggor* 70), Chris Tierney, Argenis Fernandez, Brandon Manzonelli

Ralston scores late to earn draw against Red Bulls

2008-06-18T23:34:00.002-04:00

The New York Red Bulls came into Foxboro on a very poor run, but dominated the New England Revolution in the first half and took the lead heading into half time. The Revs showed better in the second half and after an injury forced Nicol to push Steve Ralston up to forward, the Revs captain scored in his third consecutive match to give the Revs a 1-1 draw and preserve their 7 game unbeaten streak.

Read the rest at Soccer New England.

Defending US Open Cup Champion Revs to return to New Britain, Connecticut for third round

2008-06-18T15:05:00.000-04:00

The New England Revolution have today announced they will host their first match of the 2008 US Open Cup in New Britain, Connecticut at Veterans Stadium. The match will take place on July 1st against either the Richmond Kickers or Western Mass Pioneers depending on who wins when the two face off in the second round on June 24th.

The Revs, who won last year's edition of the Open Cup, enter the tournament in the third round. The game is set to kick off at 7PM. New Britain was the site last year where the Revs played their semifinal match against the Carolina Railhawks and won 2-1 to advance to the final.